I’m amazed guys like this guy can say THAT and still claim to follow Jesus. Maybe a priest who isn’t among the corrupted pervy ones can strap this idiot to a chair, put duct-tape on his maw and read the Four Gospels repeatedly (a Sister will rap Johnny on the noggin with a ruler every time he tries to not pay attention).
Let’s kidnap all these pseudo-Christian and force those Red Letters into them, Reverse-Ludovico - style! Strap them in and make them watch a lovely movie about Jesus that’s heavy with scenes of his teachings on love an charity and helping the less fortunate. I say “Reverse-Ludovico” since the regular way causes revulsion while the reverse causes support.
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Frankly, I always found that Burgess novel and Kubrick movie incredibly stupid, misanthropic and creepy, anyway… I understand the point about free-will and “you can’t force evil people to be good” but you kind of undercut it by making the Droog’s victims into jerks and weirdos and turn the part of the story concerning the Government into a prequel for “1984”. The message is confused and would’ve been more straight-forward if Burgess split it into two stories… the “Young psycho / free will” one and the “Evil Government uses mind-control to set up a dictatorship”.
Then again, after writing the above, I think I realize Burgess’ point… there’s two of them: “You can’t force evil people to turn good” and “It’s also bad because said technology, when put into the wrong hands, can go wrong”. Perhaps making the Droog’s antics look “cool” while the victims unpleasant was an “immersion” experience for the reader / viewer: You’re seeing things and feeling things from the Droog’s perspective and not the reality. The victims really are nice, pleasant people but they have to look ridiculous in order for YOU, the decent sympathetic person, to see and feel though a psychopath’s eyes for a moment!
ERMAGHERD! I FINALLY “GOT” WHAT A CLOCKWORK ORANGE WAS GETTING AT… ALL WHILE INITIALLY COMMENTING ON HOW STUPID I FOUND IT AND HOW I DIDN’T GET IT! YOU JUST WATCHED MY THOUGH PROCESS THIS IN REAL-TIME, GUYS!
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Now; Back to our show… “Christian” Fundies suffer from the worst case of Misaimed Fandom I have ever seen. Heck, it goes back centuries… I can’t see Jesus giving the thumbs-up to endless holy wars, pogroms, witch-hunts, etc.
